Vincent Sperando was born in Melrose Park, Illinois, a small predominantly Italian-American suburb just west of Chicago. He completed an undergraduate degree in physics at the University of Illinois and shortly afterwards moved to New York City to pursue a career in writing. Vincent studied creative writing at Columbia University and wrote exclusively for five years before moving to Sydney, Australia to study medicine. He was a senior specialist in anaesthesia at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney and a lecturer at the Sydney Medical Skills and Simulation Centre before retiring from medical practice. He is married with two sons and now lives on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia where he continues to write. His works include: People Places and Times (a collection of short stories with a novella), A Generation of Mavericks (a coming of age novel set in the nightclubs of Chicago), Beneath The Smoke That Thunders (a literary novel set in Zambia exploring the health care crisis there) and The Corruption of Frederick Payne (a magical realism novel exploring the real ethical and moral challenges facing the modern medical profession). He has also written one work of non-fiction: Before You Leave Home (a lifestyle cookbook designed to assist young adults transition to living independently). You can contact him at [email protected]